Former teacher hopes memoir will dispel Islam myths

Sahera Patel.

Published:13:06Wednesday 31 December 2014

With the latest Christmas sales figures showing the British public may have fallen out of love with the celebrity autobiography, perhaps there will be a gap in the market for something slightly different.

Former primary schoolteacher Sahera Patel will certainly be hoping so.

The mother-of-two was rejected by around 50 publishers when she asked them to take on her autobiography – they all told her she needed to be a celebrity for her story to sell.

That experience inspired the title of her book – I’m not a celebrity, I’m a Muslim: One woman’s journey to a world of faith – which was published as part of a joint contract.

Sahera, 40, feels she has something to say and her story, that of a Muslim woman, is one that is not often heard.

The book talks about her parents’ arranged marriage, which was agreed through a glass window, and her own, which was only agreed upon after she had met countless potential candidates.

It also touches on growing up, spirituality and death.

Though hers is not a political book, she hopes it will help dispel misconceptions and shed some positive light on her faith,Islam.

“The only time our religion allows us to be violent is when the ability to practice our religion is threatened,” she explained.

Sahera, of Old Mill View, added that a lot of the bad things happening surrounding Islam were about politics and power, not religion.

She hopes many people will relate to her book, available to buy on Amazon, as she also describes the struggles of staying fulfilled while living a nine-to-five existence.